It’s been a very busy week already. Not only are we in the middle of exam week but I am interviewing for the position of library assistant for our school. Now, we don’t call it our library – it was renamed Learning Resource Centre since we also have our computer lab, mini-lab and all our av equipment in the same area. In fact, it is one of the busiest places in our school because of what is there.

As I was getting ready for doing interviews, I realized that our traditional idea of a librarian no longer fits what we need in our library. We need someone who has technology skills, is able to find information on the internet, is able to help teachers with technology projects, can use a variety of technology while still having traditional skills of filing, ordering and maintaining the library collection. This person will need to be a life-long learner who is self-motivated and able to work on their own. I know that one of the first things I will do is introduce her/him to the blogs of some librarians like HeyJude, Library Stuff, The Shifted Librarian , LibriVox and Illuminated Dragon where they can see what these librarians are doing in terms of using technology. I’d also like to see a more collaborative approach to technology use between myself, teachers and the librarian where all of us work together in assisting students with technology and we work to make the learning the focus and the technology the medium.

I’m excited about this chance to add someone to our staff. A fresh face and new ideas are always great especially when combined with teachers who are eager to try new things.  Should be a great year!